Beer and method of preparing same.



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BEER AND METHOD or rnnrnmive- SAME."

Ijio Drawing.

' To 'alli'zhhom it may coacem:

Speciflcation of LettersPatent. Patented June 2t), 1911. Application filed April 11, 191p. Seria1No.554,645.

which follows the bottling, the enzyms be- Beit known that I, LEO WALinRsTnIN, a fcome active,,and those proteids which would subject of the Emperor of Germany, residcloud the beer when chilled are so modified ing at New York, in the county of New by the proteolysis that the resulting beer 60 5 Yorkland 'St ate of NewYork, have invented will remain clear and brilliant, being no certain new and useful Improvements in longer sensitive to cold. Beers and ales Beer and Methodsmf Preparing the Same, treated, in accordance with this invention which the following is a specification. have been found to be substantially unaffect- --This invention relates to the preparation ed by exposure to diffused daylight for days 65 of beers and ales,,'and more particularly to or even weeks, and comparatively little afthe preparation of improved bottled beers, fected even by the direct rays of the sun, the objectof the invention being the producwhereas untreated beers, as is well known, tion ofbottled beers which possess great rapidly acquire a highly disagreeable odor stability and which do not become turb1d or and flavor when exposed to sunli ht, and 7 clouded even when placed on ice for conquickly lose their brilliance, often depositing siderable periods. a sediment, under the action of diffused day- The terms beer and ale are herein light. I have also found that if the proused in their-"usual acceptation as indicating teolytic enz ms be added in sufiicient quanlager -beers and brilliant ales, as distintity, and i excessive temperatures are not 7 .20 guished from medicinal preparations, such used during pasteurization, the enzyms reas malt extracts. main active after pasteurization. By their Mostbottled beers, when correctly brewed activity subsequent to pasteurization they and stored at low temperatures, will remain exert a further beneficial influence, inas- 'clear and brilliant for some time if placed much as they are found to have a peptoniz- 80 upon ice directly after bottling. The same ing effect upon the proteids while the bot.- beers however, after pasteurization, are far tled beer is stored at ordinary temperatures. less resistant to cold and usually'cloud. or This fact is ofparticular advantage in the become turbid when placed on ice. This Sen case of beers which are to be shipped long sitiveness to cold becomes more pronounced distances or stored in bottles for lon pe- 85 after "the beers have been bottled for some 'riods, or which 'are required to un ergo time, and in many cases it is found that the climatic changes; for such treatment as is beer not only clouds when chilled, but the well known increases greatly the sensitivebot-tlesshow a sediment consisting mainly of ness of bottled'beers' with respect to cold and precipitated proteid matter. The probable even produces a sediment in the bottles. 90 55 reason fer theclou'ding of chilled pasteurized The above described peptonization occurring beers is that during the asteurization a at ordinary temperatures inthe bottles is. part of the 'proteids contained in the beer found however to impart to the beer the 021- are so modified that they become insoluble pabi it-y of enduring long storage, transporupon chilling, thereby-causing turbidity. tation or climatic change without. becoming 95 According to the present process, there is f sensitive to cold.

added to the beer; at any suitable stage of It is not practicable to specify all prothe brewing, that-is to'sa at any period subteolytic enzyms which are suited ,for use in sequent to the cooling-o the wort, and usuaccordance with this invention, or to state a ally .after the conclusion of the main ferdefinite roportion in which each should 100 mentation, .a proportion of proteolytic be added? Enzyms which are suitable for enzyms active in slightl acid media suflithe purpose above described are widely discient to modify the protelds contained in the tributed inthe vegetable and animal king beer in suchmanner that they'will not be doms, are readilyp'repared' in concentrated precipitated u f on chilling subsequent to pas form by known methods, and their prepara- 105 teurization, tli e beer being rendered chilltions have in several instances become stand- ,proof in the sense that it is capable of reard articles of commerce. Such preparations I m-aining brilliant even when kept upon ice are not however pure in the sense ofconsistfora considerableitime. In practice it has ing solely of enzyms or of a single enzym, been found advantageous in most cases to and all proteolytic enzyms are in, practice add the enzyms to the clarified beer shortly recognized only by their effects upon probef ore bottling. During the pasteurization teid matter. The source from whichproteolytic enzyms are derived is not material or important, provided the preparation is free from constituents injurious to the beer and the enzyms are capable of exerting the proper modifying action upon the proteids under the conditions existing in beers or ales during or after pasteurization. The enzyms selected should be such as are capable of inducing proteolysis in slightly acid liquids, and such as are not destroyed or rendered permanently inactive by subjection to the usual temperatures of pasteurization. The activity of enzyms from various sources differs greatly, their activity being also affected by their mode of preparation or concentration; and inasmuch as the proportion or quantity to be used is dependent upon their activity, it is evident that such proportion or quantity can be specified only in particular cases, being however readily determined by simple test for each case.

Enzyms which are suited for use in accordance with this invention may be prepared from malt by known methods; (compare for example F ernbach and Hubert, Oompt. Rand. (Ze ZAcaal. des Sciences, 1900,

130, 1783; 131, 293; Windisch and Schell-' horn, Wochensch. Bram, 1900, 17, 334:; and WVeiss, Oompt. Rand. Tram). Laborat. Carlsberg, 1903, 5, 135). I have also been able to prepare an enzym capable of producing the above described effects upon beer in accordance with the following method: Green malt which has been permitted to grow for a period of one to two weeks according to conditions, is finely ground, preferably with the addition of quartz sand. The ground product is saturated with a solution containing 0.1 to 0.3 per cent. of hydrochloric acid and is permitted to stand at room temperatures for twelve to twenty-four hours. The acid liquid is then expressed under heavy pressure, and is mixed with several volumes of strong alcohol. The resulting precipitate contains the enzym, and is quickly v separated from the liquid and dried in vacuo at temperatures not exceeding 40 C. It

should be clearly understood that these enzyms are extremely sensitive to physical and chemical. conditions, and may be rendered inactive by factors the presence of which it is often difficult or impossible to recognize. Hence it may occur that preparations made under seemingly identical conditions may difier widely in their activity or in their suitability for the purposes of this invention. Hence the preparations should in all cases be tested as to their effects upon beer before using them.

Besides the peptase prepared from malt, preparations containing proteolytic enzyms from other sources are well adapted for use, provided only they are active in slightly acid media and are free from substances injurious to the beer. Thus I may mention by way of example papain, derived from papaw, bromelin; from the fruit of the pineapple (see Biochemz'eder Pflangen, Czapek, Jena, 1905, Volume'II, p. 167), and pepsin, from the gastric secret-ions of mammals. Those commercial preparations of papain and pepsin which exhibit a comparatively high degree of activity, say in excess of 1 3000 (that is to. say which are capable under the standard conditions recited in the U. S. Pharmacopazz'a of digesting at least 3000 times their weight of freshly coagulated egg-albumen) have been found to be suitable for the purposes of this invention. It should be under- .stood that zymogens convertible into proteolytic enzyms may serve as additions to the beer, giving rise therein to the respective enzyms. With reference to pepsin, it is commonly stated that this enzym is rapidly destroyed by warming to 5557.'C.: I have found however that under the conditions obtaining during pasteurization of beer at temperatures of 57-60 C., the pepsin exhibits activity both during and after pasteurization.

The proportion of the enzym to be added depends primarily upon the activity of the preparation, and secondarily upon the percentage of coagulable albuminoids in the beer. As a general rule,- can enzym exhibiting an activity of, 1 6000, may be employed in the proportion of one to five grams per barrel of thirty-one gallons of beer or ale, the proportion being increased or diminished according as the activity of the preparation may vary from the above standard, and accordingvto' the percentage of coagulable albuminoids contained in the beer. As above stated, the enzym is preferably added to the filtered or otherwise clarified beer shortly before bottling, but the addition may be made if desired at any other suitable stage of the process, as for example during storage. The addition of the enzym preparations in excessive proportions may render the beer again sensitive to cold.

It is a distinguishing characteristic of beers and ales prepared in accordance with this invention and containing active proteolytic enzyms, that they are not only themselves far less sensitive to cold than most pasteurized beers, but they are capable of imparting this quality under proper conditions to beers which are sensitive to cold from the presence therein of proteid matter. For example, if a beer containing proteolytic enzyms be mixed with an equal or lesser volume of a beer which becomes turbid from the separation of proteids when placed on ice, and the mixture kept for a suitable period at a temperature favorable to proteolysis, this mixture will be found thereafter to have acquired the property of remaining clear when subsequently chilled. This procedure constitutes in the absence Ofinterfering substances, as for example salts of tin or other heavy metals, a highly sensitive test .for the presence of.t-hese enzyms in a state of activity. A highly sensitive test for the presence of pepsin in astate of activity in beer or ale is by digesting or proteolyzing the hydrochloric acid solution of the proteid known as edestin;,or in'general the enzyms in. a state of activity can be detected by their pro-teolytic effects upon various albuminous substances or proteids, it being preferable to select for thedetection of each enzym such proteids as are proven to be highly sensitive to its effects, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The above tests are also applicable to the detection of proteolytic enzymes in various media'other than beer or ale, as for eX- ample in plant or animal secretions or any preparations made therefrom.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a beer or ale characterized by its capability of remaining clear when chilled subsequent to pasteurization, by its high degree of stability at ordinary temperatures, and by the presence therein, in the described state of activity, of a proteolytic enzym active in slightly acid media.

2. In the art of brewing, the step which consists in adding to the beer or ale, subv sequent to the cooling of the wort, a proteolytic enzym active in slightly acid media, such enzym being added in proportions and sequent to the cooling of the wort, a proteolytic enzym active in slightly acid media, such enzym being added in proportions and under conditions to remain in the finished beer in. the described state of activity and to render the beer chillproof and more stable at ordinary temperatures, and subsequently pasteurizing.

4. In the art of brewing, the step which consists in adding to the beer or ale, subsequent to the cooling of the wort, a preparation derived from malt, said preparation containing a proteolytic enzym active in slightly acid media and being practically free from unstable albumens which are devoid of proteolytic action, said enzym being added in proportions and under conditions to remain in the finished beer in the described state of activity, and to render the beer chillproof and more stable at ordinary temperatures.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEO VVALLERSTEIN.

Witnesses:

JOHN KEIM, Jr., PHILIP TAUB. 

